Apple Lamborne (Lord Lamborne)

Autumn English variety, obtained by crossing James Griv and Parmen Worcester. Regionally approved and rapidly spread in southern regions of Russia.

Trees are fast-growing with compact, round crowns; branches grow at sharp angles. Main fruiting occurs on spurs and eyes.

Shoots are thick, curved, brown, with rounded lenticels. Leaves are medium-sized, oval or egg-shaped, deeply lobed, slightly curved. In nurseries, shoots are weakly curved. Bark is brown with a reddish tinge and rare oval white lenticels. Leaves are weakly lobed, with slightly wavy, serrated margins. Petioles are medium-sized, narrowly lanceolate.

Flowers are pink, dish-shaped. Buds are red. Stigma column is glabrous, with stigmas positioned at the level of anthers.

Fruits (see illustration) are above-average size, one-dimensional, flattened, round-conical. Skin is dry, rough, dense. Main color is light, yellowish-green, turning golden in storage. Blush appears as dull red stripes on uneven background. Subcutaneous spots are large; epidermal spots are rusty, brownish. Pit is medium, very rough. Dish is finely ridged. Calyx is medium-sized, half-open.

Flesh is white, slightly yellowish at maturity, very juicy, dense, excellent tart-sweet flavor, with a strong aroma. Chemical composition of fruits: dry matter — 14.0%, sugars — 10.6%, titratable acids — 0.6%, ascorbic acid — 6.2 mg/100g, catechins — 80 mg/100g.

Harvesting maturity occurs at the end of the first decade of September. Fruits store until mid-winter.

Best pollinators: Welles, Kuban Spur, Khutoryanka, Kuban Kazachka. Early-bearing, high-yielding. Average yield is 250–350 c/ha, in steppe regions — 150 c/ha. The variety is sufficiently winter-hardy and drought-tolerant in southern Russia. Moderately affected by scab and powdery mildew.

Advantages of the variety: comparatively compact crown, early-bearing, annual and high yield, drought tolerance.

Disadvantages of the variety: fruit size reduction under heavy fruit load and low agroclimatic conditions, susceptibility to diseases.

Used in breeding as a carrier of traits for high fruit marketability and quality, early-bearing, and high yield. In England, this variety was used to create the Prince Charles (Lamborne × Cox Orange) variety.